Rather than try to predict the picks of Indianapolis and 31 other NFL teams, Colts insiders Joel A. Erickson and Zak Keefer decided to try to play the role of the team's scouts and general manager Chris Ballard, respectively. Fanspeak.com's draft simulator makes the rest of the picks, and when the Colts come on the clock, Erickson and Keefer weigh the options, then make a pick based on what's available.

Erickson: Before we fire up this simulator and the draft starts, is there a perfect scenario for the Colts? One position where they need a difference-maker more than any other?

Keefer: I think an ideal situation for Indianapolis is if quarterback-needy teams roll the dice early, and you see more than just Kyler Murray fly off the board before the 26th pick rolls around. If Dwayne Haskins, Drew Lock and Daniel Jones are gone before the Colts are on the clock, there’s a good chance some of the defensive linemen or wide receivers the Colts could be targeting will still be there. And that’s a huge win for Chris Ballard and his staff, because at No. 26, it’s hard to predict what their options will be.

Erickson: Agreed, and it’s not that far-fetched. Everybody said the 2017 draft was defense-heavy, but then teams in the top 10 started picking offensive players and it pushed defenders like Malik Hooker down the board. Let’s fire this thing up.

Erickson: As deep as this draft is defensively, the scenario we’ve got here is what just about everybody’s predicting: all of the top five edge rushers off the board long before the Colts pick.

Keefer: So the top of the draft doesn’t fall the Colts’ way, but they don’t panic. No need to. I thought a player like Marquise Brown, the speedy wideout, would be someone Frank Reich and Nick Sirianni would be hoping would fall. And you’d assume defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus would love help up front or on the back end. I’m predicting the Colts pass on two of the tantalizing d-line prospects they’ve been targeted for: Clemson’s Dexter Lawrence and Mississippi State’s Jeffrey Simmons. Both carry some off-the-field baggage: Lawrence missed the Tigers’ two playoff games on their way to a national championship after failing a drug test, and Simmons was caught on camera punching a woman before the first college game he ever played.

Erickson: The tough decisions don’t end there. The top players on the board available are Michigan defensive lineman Rashan Gary, a freakish athlete who had questions about production in college and a shoulder injury; Alabama’s Josh Jacobs, the top running back; and Washington cornerback Byron Murphy, who’s a good tackler, has good ball skills and the only real knock is a lack of top-end speed. There’s also a cluster of players at wide receiver — Ole Miss’ D.K. Metcalf and A.J. Brown, plus Arizona State’s N’Keal Harry — and safety — Delaware’s Nasir Adderley, Washington’s Taylor Rapp and Mississippi State’s Johnathan Abram.

Keefer: In light of obvious needs at wideout and along the defensive line, the Colts instead go with a safety: Mississippi State’s Johnathan Abram. The reason? He’s the biggest difference-maker left on their board. Chris Ballard has long talked about his affinity for game-changing plays — i.e. turnovers — and that was one of the main reasons he jumped at the chance to take Hooker 15th overall in 2017. Two years later, he finds Hooker’s running mate for the future, a physical, ball-seeking strong safety in Abram that can learn from Clayton Geathers in 2019. Abram has the versatility the Colts’ scheme craves, and can play in the box and, at times, look like an extra linebacker.

And the Colts won’t worry too much about addressing their needs. After Thursday, they’ve still got eight more picks over the rest of the weekend, including one eight spots behind their first-round pick. Ample opportunity to bolster that defensive line and add pieces to the wide receiver room.

Erickson: That’s the thing about having pick No. 34. Ballard said the other day that they have a cluster of eight players they’d pick at No. 26; there’s a decent chance that they pick one of those players in the first round and another is still available at No. 34. Let’s see what’s available.

SECOND ROUND

33. Dre’Mont Jones, DT, Cardinals.

Erickson: Offensive playmakers abound, both at running back, where Jacobs is still available, and at receiver. Brown is arguably the best all-around receiver in the draft; he has the quickness to play out of the slot and tons of production. Harry’s a bigger player at 6-2, with a highlight reel full of acrobatic catches and excellent run after the catch. Boston College guard Chris Lindstrom, a good player at a position of little need -- although Ballard loves the offensive line -- and Temple cornerback Rock Ya-Sin, who has the size and toughness Indianapolis likes, are also available.

Keefer: At No. 34, the Colts snag the sort of offensive weapon this team needed late last season: a chain-moving slot receiver. Mississippi’s A.J. Brown is the pick. Brown has the size (6-0, 226 pounds) and production that could make him a very real threat to become this team’s No. 3 receiver come training camp. He’ll join a room that includes T.Y. Hilton, Devin Funchess, Chester Rogers, Zach Pascal and Deon Cain, who’s on the mend from that ACL tear he suffered last August.

Another capable offensive weapon for Frank Reich and Andrew Luck is always a good thing. Even one of the knocks on Brown -- too many drops -- won’t worry the Colts all that much.

Erickson: There might not be a top-10 talent available at receiver, but it does feel like the best pass-catchers in this draft fit in right about where Indianapolis is picking.

Erickson: The first and second-round run on defensive linemen leaves us with a few options. While there are a few safeties at the top of our board right now, we’ve already picked Abram, and that narrows down the rest of the options.

Notre Dame cornerback Julian Love, who had a lot of production in college, is available, as well as massive cornerbacks like Kentucky’s Lonnie Johnson and Penn State’s Amani Oruwariye. There’s also a couple of interior offensive linemen with positional versatility in Texas A&M’s Erik McCoy and Mississippi State’s Elgton Jenkins. If you’re looking at defensive line, the players available are a little further down our board; Miami defensive tackle Gerald Willis, Texas' Charles Omenihu and Boston College’s Zach Allen.

Keefer: The pick is Miami’s Willis, and it doesn’t come without risk -- Willis transferred from the University of Florida after reportedly getting into a fight with a teammate. But at Miami he became one of the most disruptive interior defensive linemen in college football, and the Colts can never have enough of those. He had 18 tackles for loss last season to go with four sacks, and he’ll immediately add depth to a position group that’s getting better and better the more Ballard and the Colts invest in it.

Erickson: For the most part, the simulator stuck to the scenarios I’ve seen through most of this draft process, and it highlights an interesting possibility for the Colts. Ballard loves to add to his offensive and defensive lines, and he’s said he believes there is depth in the middle rounds in the secondary and at wide receiver, but the way most people see the draft shaking out is that the top players at positions like safety, cornerback and wide receiver might match up with Indianapolis’ picks better than the big guys.

That is, if the draft shakes out the way most draft experts see it.

And it's almost a certainty that Thursday's first round won't look anything like that.